Red Wing

86
Played by Mr. Raymond Martin and Mr. Dean Ramsey Prairie Grove, Arkansas November 13, 1960
Reel 372 Item 9
"Red Wing"
(A Fiddle Tune)
Collected by James S. A. Collins, Daniel I. Hall, and Thommie D. Herndon For M. C. Parler87
Dan: I got so engrossed here with what's going on, I forgot to say what date
this is. This is November 13. 1960, and Thom Herndon, Jim Collins, and myself, Dan Hall, are all over here at Raymond Martin's house for (the) Arkansas Folklore class up at the University of Arkansas. We got so engrossed in this good music here we forgot to put all down on here.
Is there anything else we left out, Thom?
Thom: No. That's about it: date, place.
Dan: How about you, Jim. You think of anything we left out?
Jim: No, I believe all we need now is some music.
Dan: Well, we've been getting some mighty good music here, that's for sure.
What's that? (Raymond turned hie fiddle up on end, and it made a noise.) Run your fiddle up and down here once more, Raymond. What (did) you say on this, Dean?
Dean: Well, Raymond can tell you better than I can.
Ray: Maude Carney was at Big Springs picking huckleberries long years ago. A
dog got after a snake and, she said, killed it: and it was a rattlesnake.
I got the rattles here in this fiddle.
Mrs. J. I. Hall: Honest?
Dean: Raymond, tell them what you've got them in there for.
Dan: What's the deal?
Ray: Keeps the dust cut out around the edges.
Thom: And spider webs.
Ray: Yup. Keeps dust out.
Dan: Keeps the tone of the fiddle constant?
Ray: Yeah. It vibrates the violin.
Jim: And that (is) the rattlesnake (rattles)?
Ray: Yeah. It vibrates.Dan: Does moat fiddlers do this, or . . .
Ray: Oh, there are a lot of them. I wouldn't say everybody did, but I know
a lot of old timers.
Dean: The old timers did.
Dan: All of it rattlesnake rattles?
Thom: Do you have a case for it?
Ray: Yeah.
Thom: Let's take a break and watch the game.
Dan: It isn't on yet, Thom. It's five minutes yet.
Goldie: Ray, tell them about the cloth it's wrapped in.
Ray: I (will) show that to them.
Goldie: Well, it (is) dirty. I haven't got to wash it.
Dan: Tell us about it, Ray.
Ray: Well, it was made on a spinning wheel by my father's mother.
Thom: Your father's mother.
Ray: Yeah. It (is) over a hundred years old. That (is) just a piece of it.
It's woolen goods. Spun on a spinning wheel.
Dan: Was that made here in Arkansas?
Dean: Yeah.
Jim: And you wrap your ...
Ray: Yeah, and I wrap the old ... the old fiddle is wrapped up in it.
Dan: You always use that?
Ray: Yeah. It (has) been in that old fiddle case ever since.
Jim: It (is) over 100 years old?
Ray: Yeah. That (is) over a hundred years old. That's made on a spinning
wheel.
Thom: On a spinning wheel.
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89
Goldie: (Referring to the cloth) ... probably full of dust.
Dan: How many rattles did that rattlesnake have on it, Raymond?
Ray: Eight, I think. It was eight rattles.
Dan: Eight rattles.
Goldie: (Still referring to the cloth) Do you think that would fall apart if
I washed it?
Mrs. J. I. Hall: I wouldn't do a thing to it. I'd let it be just as it is.
Goldie: It's dirty.
Mrs. J. I. Hall: That doesn't matter.
Goldie: He's always had his fiddle wrapped in it.
Ray: It's been in that fiddle case ever since I was a kid.
Mrs. J. I. Hall: It's just like the rattlesnake rattles. That preserves the
fiddle.
Dan: Raymond, being a little outspoken here, but how old are you?
Ray: 50 years old.
Dan: 50. You've been around here for quite a while, haven't you? I shouldn't
say that: I'm over half that distance now. What's the name of this one now?
Ray: "Prettiest Little Gal In Johnson County."
Dan: You been playing this--this is one of your favorites, is that right?
"Prettiest Little Gal In Johnson County."

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86
Played by Mr. Raymond Martin and Mr. Dean Ramsey Prairie Grove, Arkansas November 13, 1960
Reel 372 Item 9
"Red Wing"
(A Fiddle Tune)
Collected by James S. A. Collins, Daniel I. Hall, and Thommie D. Herndon For M. C. Parler87
Dan: I got so engrossed here with what's going on, I forgot to say what date
this is. This is November 13. 1960, and Thom Herndon, Jim Collins, and myself, Dan Hall, are all over here at Raymond Martin's house for (the) Arkansas Folklore class up at the University of Arkansas. We got so engrossed in this good music here we forgot to put all down on here.
Is there anything else we left out, Thom?
Thom: No. That's about it: date, place.
Dan: How about you, Jim. You think of anything we left out?
Jim: No, I believe all we need now is some music.
Dan: Well, we've been getting some mighty good music here, that's for sure.
What's that? (Raymond turned hie fiddle up on end, and it made a noise.) Run your fiddle up and down here once more, Raymond. What (did) you say on this, Dean?
Dean: Well, Raymond can tell you better than I can.
Ray: Maude Carney was at Big Springs picking huckleberries long years ago. A
dog got after a snake and, she said, killed it: and it was a rattlesnake.
I got the rattles here in this fiddle.
Mrs. J. I. Hall: Honest?
Dean: Raymond, tell them what you've got them in there for.
Dan: What's the deal?
Ray: Keeps the dust cut out around the edges.
Thom: And spider webs.
Ray: Yup. Keeps dust out.
Dan: Keeps the tone of the fiddle constant?
Ray: Yeah. It vibrates the violin.
Jim: And that (is) the rattlesnake (rattles)?
Ray: Yeah. It vibrates.Dan: Does moat fiddlers do this, or . . .
Ray: Oh, there are a lot of them. I wouldn't say everybody did, but I know
a lot of old timers.
Dean: The old timers did.
Dan: All of it rattlesnake rattles?
Thom: Do you have a case for it?
Ray: Yeah.
Thom: Let's take a break and watch the game.
Dan: It isn't on yet, Thom. It's five minutes yet.
Goldie: Ray, tell them about the cloth it's wrapped in.
Ray: I (will) show that to them.
Goldie: Well, it (is) dirty. I haven't got to wash it.
Dan: Tell us about it, Ray.
Ray: Well, it was made on a spinning wheel by my father's mother.
Thom: Your father's mother.
Ray: Yeah. It (is) over a hundred years old. That (is) just a piece of it.
It's woolen goods. Spun on a spinning wheel.
Dan: Was that made here in Arkansas?
Dean: Yeah.
Jim: And you wrap your ...
Ray: Yeah, and I wrap the old ... the old fiddle is wrapped up in it.
Dan: You always use that?
Ray: Yeah. It (has) been in that old fiddle case ever since.
Jim: It (is) over 100 years old?
Ray: Yeah. That (is) over a hundred years old. That's made on a spinning
wheel.
Thom: On a spinning wheel.
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89
Goldie: (Referring to the cloth) ... probably full of dust.
Dan: How many rattles did that rattlesnake have on it, Raymond?
Ray: Eight, I think. It was eight rattles.
Dan: Eight rattles.
Goldie: (Still referring to the cloth) Do you think that would fall apart if
I washed it?
Mrs. J. I. Hall: I wouldn't do a thing to it. I'd let it be just as it is.
Goldie: It's dirty.
Mrs. J. I. Hall: That doesn't matter.
Goldie: He's always had his fiddle wrapped in it.
Ray: It's been in that fiddle case ever since I was a kid.
Mrs. J. I. Hall: It's just like the rattlesnake rattles. That preserves the
fiddle.
Dan: Raymond, being a little outspoken here, but how old are you?
Ray: 50 years old.
Dan: 50. You've been around here for quite a while, haven't you? I shouldn't
say that: I'm over half that distance now. What's the name of this one now?
Ray: "Prettiest Little Gal In Johnson County."
Dan: You been playing this--this is one of your favorites, is that right?
"Prettiest Little Gal In Johnson County."